WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today the release of a new video aimed at educating employers about worker rights and employer responsibilities under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The anti-discrimination provision forbids citizenship status and national origin discrimination in the workplace.

The half-hour video, available online and in DVD format, describes the types of discrimination prohibited and how employers can avoid discriminatory practices. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is distributing the DVD. OSC enforces the anti-discrimination provision. It also staffs telephone hotlines to help employers and workers quickly resolve immigration-related workplace problems.

"We want to ensure that workers know their rights and that employers know their responsibilities under our nation’s civil rights laws, which protect documented workers against employment discrimination because of their citizenship status, their accent, their appearance or their national origin," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

"While OSC vigorously pursues violators of this law, it also conducts an extensive public education program to train employers about fair employment practices and how to avoid discrimination against authorized workers," adds Perez.

The video is available on the OSC Web site at www.justice.gov/crt/osc/. In addition, single copies in DVD format can be ordered by calling OSC.

Those interested in ordering the video or seeking assistance from OSC may call its toll-free employer hotline at 800-255-8155 (voice) or 800-237-2515 (TTY) or its worker hotline at 800-235-7688 (voice) or 800-237-2515 (TTY).